Image of the week… Two words: Middle seat

27th June 2023

Two words: Middle. Seat.

I struggle on flights. Weirdly this has got worse in the past few years as I have become more aware of how unsettled I am.
I like the freedom to move so sharing an airtight vessel within close range of strangers is my idea of torture.
Then throw me in a middle seat and my eyes dart for the exit.

It’s strange how flying plays with the senses and emotions. I recently learnt how our smell is affected on flights and how playing music can alter this.
15 hours is a lifetime in a strait jacket

I’m distracting myself by looking through the contact sheets of YWA that I’ve been gathering for my @guesteditions book edit.
Bringing the work together has been a mission. Several archive folders spanning over 4 years of fleeting trips to Romania.

It’s been a joy to revisit forgotten encounters, a variety of climates, locations and attempts at making images. Often what I recall is the situation that prevented me from fulfilling my imagined tableau. The way the light turned or how I couldn’t quite lock in a comfortable frame- the jigsaw piece didn’t fit. It’s so rare that I feel that satisfying swish of a ball through the net, when an image just falls into place. Cliché, but if it was easy, I wouldn’t chase it, I guess.

When I stumbled across this frame so much about this meeting flooded back.
The struggle but also the unique unraveling.
By the time this trip came around I had some idea of some of the images I wanted to try and paint.

For this story I needed a priest with a long beard- tick- we found one who was willing to meet us. After hours of driving and a jam-packed schedule we were greeted and it was clear we may not have the opportunity we needed.
Ideally, we needed more time, several meetings.
But after a lot of pork fat, red wine, tenacity, and patience we were aligned.
As the priest shared his Haikus and stern views, we explained our creative concepts. Unexpectedly he not only stepped into the role but did so with such gusto and character that it took me by surprise. What I love about these encounters is the unpredictable moments before and after. OAO x